Genres
Collection
Publication
Open Road Media, Kindle Edition, 436 pages
Description
Fairy tales reimagined--in stories by "a distinguished company of writers" including Neil Gaiman, Joyce Carol Oates, and Tanith Lee (Kirkus Reviews). For many of us, the fairy tale was our first exposure to the written word and the power of storytelling. These wondrous works of magic and morality enthralled us, enchanted us, sometimes terrified us, and remain in our hearts and memories still. Once again, World Fantasy Award-winning editors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling have compiled an extraordinary collection of reimagined tales conceived by some of today's most acclaimed contemporary purveyors of literary fantasy, science fiction, and horror, including Neil Gaiman, Gahan Wilson, Joyce Carol Oates, Tanith Lee, Nancy Kress, Gene Wolfe, and others. Remarkable things lurk in these dark and magical woods. Here Beauty confronts a serial-killer Beast, Hansel and Gretel's witch resides not in a gingerbread house but in a luxurious resort, and Rumpelstiltskin is truly the devil demanding his due, rightfully or otherwise. The hilarious "Roach in Loafers" ingeniously combines the classic "Elves and the Shoemaker" tale with "Puss in Boots" and adds an insectile twist, while in a modern fable that blends The Wizard of Oz and Hans Christian Andersen, Dorothy is set adrift in Hollywoodland, ruby slippers and all. These are not the fairy stories you remember from childhood.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Rhinoa
This volume contains 22 tales and poems by 21 different authors. It is another blend of science fiction, fantasy, horror and erotic adult re-tellings of fairy tales. It includes a few from ouside Europe and is my favourite of the series so far.
Ruby Slippers - Susan Wade
A mixture of "The Wizard of
The Beast - Tanith Lee
Her take on "Beauty and the Beast". Isobel is married to the handsome and rich Vessavian who collects beautiful objects. As time goes on she uncovers his secret collection of beautiful objects he has taken from ugly settings.
Masterpiece - Garry Kilworth
A look at "Rumplestiltskin" and people who make bargains and fail to keep them. Susan Quarry is offered a deal by mysterious Mr Black one day that will make her a famous painter and let her create one masterpiece. Along the way she falls in love with her dealer, marries him and has a son. When Ms Black returns to collect her most precious object she is torn between giving her husband, child or masterpiece up.
Summer Wind - Nancy Kress
A look at the takes of "Sleeping Beauty" and "Briar Rose". Here Briar Rose awakens long before everyone else in the castle and becomes an old woman watching vaiours princes die in the briar surrounding the castle. Eventually one breaks through and the inhabitants awaken and she slips away, an old woman not recognised by her staff and subjects.
This Centuary of Sleep or, Briar Rose Beneath the Sea - Fariada S.T Shapiro
A poetical re-telling of Sleeping Beauty.
The Crossing - Joyce Carol Oates
Another look at Sleeping Beauty and Briar Rose looking at Martha who is in a coma after a car accident. She lingers on life support and dreams she is in an aunts house watching the train go by until one day she boards it and never wakes up.
Roach in Loafers - Roberta Lannes
A look at Puss 'n' Boots but with a cockroach instead of a cat. Funny and quirky.
Naked Little Men - Michael Cadnum
"The Shoemaker and the Elves" told by his wife.
Brown Bear - Lisa Goldstein
A blend of "Goldilocks" with animal bridegroom elements. It is a lovely blend of Native American symbolism of bears and a girl from their tribe Quick who marries and bears a child of the bears linking the two for ever.
The Emperor who had never seen a Dragon - John Brunner
Based on many Chinese tales looking at unjust rulers being overthrown by the common people and the moral that they need not forever be slaves to Imperial rule.
Billy Fearless - Nancy A Collins
Based on the Brothers Grimm "A Tale about a boy who went forth to learn what Fear was" but with an added Southern flavour. Billy manages to survive three nights in a haunted house winning riches and a wife.
The Death of Koshohei the Deathless (a tale of Old Russia) - Gene Wolfe
A Russian fairy tale with some of the blanks fomr the original filled. A son avenges his father who unknowingly fell in love with his sister. A fun tale but with sinister overtones with much still left unsaid.
The Real Princess - Susan Palwick
A look at the sinister motives in "The Princess and the Pea" of a Prince who wants a wife who bruises easily. Fairies are mixed in as well as much violence.
The Huntsman's Story - Milbre Burch
A poem written in response to the discovery of Polly Klass's body two months after the 12 year old was kidnapped. A sinister look at the huntsman who comes unbidden into our lives.
After Push Comes to Shove - Milbre Burch
Written during the 1993 Los Angeles fires. The witch from Hansel and Grettel burns in the oven and looks ahead to the death of the children who poison each other fighting over their forgotten fathers will.
Hansel and Grettel - Gahan Wilson
Hansel and Grettel in this story come from a very rich family and after finding their way home are given a large sum of money to live their own lives. They do much pleasure seeking staying only in the best hotels and later searching out other hidden places of interest. They discover a castle in the Black Forest which contains many life-like gold statues of humans in warrior poses. They are taken to the secret centre of the castle where there are statues looking afraid. They discover the truth of the statues and the story is told to a listener encouraging them to seek out the castle in turn.
Match Girl - Anne Bishop
Her first professional sale looking at the tale of The Little Match Girl but with more violence as well as a different kind of release for her at the end.
Waking the Prince - Kathe Koja
A look at "Sleeping Beauty" twisting the original to the Prince being the one who sleeps. His mother works magic to let him life a half life in our time but remain sleeping in his own.
The Fox Wife - Ellen Steiber
An interesting Japanese tale based on a doctor who treated patients said to be possess by Kitsume (the Fox) in 1892. The Fox is known as a trickster and in this tale it aids Haruko who is forced to marry a viscious Samauri Lord Ikeda. She takes her maid O-Shima who tells the tale of her possession and later escape.
The White Road - Neil Gaiman
A poem based on the fairy tale "Mr Fox" with a violent and unsettling ending dream sequence and ending.
The Traveller and The Tale - Jane Yolen
A science fiction story of a woman sent back in time to add stories into the French villages history to help them fight off alien invaders in the future and not succumb to their rule. Once she has travelled back she is unable to return to her own time. It contains another story within it, one the travller told to the village, which involves changeling aspects.
The Printer's Daughter - Delia Sherman
A re-telling of a Russian tale "The Snow Child" originally about a middle-aged couples desire for a child. This version sees an alchemist helping a printer who needs an apprentice to print his papers into a book. He makes a child out of paper and as the printer finds work hard to come by she can only speak from the paper she is written on which is a porographic tale and a series of sermons by the local reverend. She is turned into a book at the end by poet Robert Blanke with a dedication to her father and the poet.
My favourite tale was "The Real Princess" which is the second time I have enjoyed a re-telling of The Princess and the Pea the most. I also really liked The Beast, Masterpiece, Roach in Loafers, The Huntsman's Story, Hansel and Grettel, Match Girl and The Fox Wife (by far the longest tale in the collection). Recommended to all lovers of fairy tales and great stories.
Ruby Slippers - Susan Wade
A mixture of "The Wizard of
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Oz" and "The Red Shoes" by Hans Christian Andersen told as an interview with Dorothy later on in her life. I like the twisting of the original tale by Frank L Baum.The Beast - Tanith Lee
Her take on "Beauty and the Beast". Isobel is married to the handsome and rich Vessavian who collects beautiful objects. As time goes on she uncovers his secret collection of beautiful objects he has taken from ugly settings.
Masterpiece - Garry Kilworth
A look at "Rumplestiltskin" and people who make bargains and fail to keep them. Susan Quarry is offered a deal by mysterious Mr Black one day that will make her a famous painter and let her create one masterpiece. Along the way she falls in love with her dealer, marries him and has a son. When Ms Black returns to collect her most precious object she is torn between giving her husband, child or masterpiece up.
Summer Wind - Nancy Kress
A look at the takes of "Sleeping Beauty" and "Briar Rose". Here Briar Rose awakens long before everyone else in the castle and becomes an old woman watching vaiours princes die in the briar surrounding the castle. Eventually one breaks through and the inhabitants awaken and she slips away, an old woman not recognised by her staff and subjects.
This Centuary of Sleep or, Briar Rose Beneath the Sea - Fariada S.T Shapiro
A poetical re-telling of Sleeping Beauty.
The Crossing - Joyce Carol Oates
Another look at Sleeping Beauty and Briar Rose looking at Martha who is in a coma after a car accident. She lingers on life support and dreams she is in an aunts house watching the train go by until one day she boards it and never wakes up.
Roach in Loafers - Roberta Lannes
A look at Puss 'n' Boots but with a cockroach instead of a cat. Funny and quirky.
Naked Little Men - Michael Cadnum
"The Shoemaker and the Elves" told by his wife.
Brown Bear - Lisa Goldstein
A blend of "Goldilocks" with animal bridegroom elements. It is a lovely blend of Native American symbolism of bears and a girl from their tribe Quick who marries and bears a child of the bears linking the two for ever.
The Emperor who had never seen a Dragon - John Brunner
Based on many Chinese tales looking at unjust rulers being overthrown by the common people and the moral that they need not forever be slaves to Imperial rule.
Billy Fearless - Nancy A Collins
Based on the Brothers Grimm "A Tale about a boy who went forth to learn what Fear was" but with an added Southern flavour. Billy manages to survive three nights in a haunted house winning riches and a wife.
The Death of Koshohei the Deathless (a tale of Old Russia) - Gene Wolfe
A Russian fairy tale with some of the blanks fomr the original filled. A son avenges his father who unknowingly fell in love with his sister. A fun tale but with sinister overtones with much still left unsaid.
The Real Princess - Susan Palwick
A look at the sinister motives in "The Princess and the Pea" of a Prince who wants a wife who bruises easily. Fairies are mixed in as well as much violence.
The Huntsman's Story - Milbre Burch
A poem written in response to the discovery of Polly Klass's body two months after the 12 year old was kidnapped. A sinister look at the huntsman who comes unbidden into our lives.
After Push Comes to Shove - Milbre Burch
Written during the 1993 Los Angeles fires. The witch from Hansel and Grettel burns in the oven and looks ahead to the death of the children who poison each other fighting over their forgotten fathers will.
Hansel and Grettel - Gahan Wilson
Hansel and Grettel in this story come from a very rich family and after finding their way home are given a large sum of money to live their own lives. They do much pleasure seeking staying only in the best hotels and later searching out other hidden places of interest. They discover a castle in the Black Forest which contains many life-like gold statues of humans in warrior poses. They are taken to the secret centre of the castle where there are statues looking afraid. They discover the truth of the statues and the story is told to a listener encouraging them to seek out the castle in turn.
Match Girl - Anne Bishop
Her first professional sale looking at the tale of The Little Match Girl but with more violence as well as a different kind of release for her at the end.
Waking the Prince - Kathe Koja
A look at "Sleeping Beauty" twisting the original to the Prince being the one who sleeps. His mother works magic to let him life a half life in our time but remain sleeping in his own.
The Fox Wife - Ellen Steiber
An interesting Japanese tale based on a doctor who treated patients said to be possess by Kitsume (the Fox) in 1892. The Fox is known as a trickster and in this tale it aids Haruko who is forced to marry a viscious Samauri Lord Ikeda. She takes her maid O-Shima who tells the tale of her possession and later escape.
The White Road - Neil Gaiman
A poem based on the fairy tale "Mr Fox" with a violent and unsettling ending dream sequence and ending.
The Traveller and The Tale - Jane Yolen
A science fiction story of a woman sent back in time to add stories into the French villages history to help them fight off alien invaders in the future and not succumb to their rule. Once she has travelled back she is unable to return to her own time. It contains another story within it, one the travller told to the village, which involves changeling aspects.
The Printer's Daughter - Delia Sherman
A re-telling of a Russian tale "The Snow Child" originally about a middle-aged couples desire for a child. This version sees an alchemist helping a printer who needs an apprentice to print his papers into a book. He makes a child out of paper and as the printer finds work hard to come by she can only speak from the paper she is written on which is a porographic tale and a series of sermons by the local reverend. She is turned into a book at the end by poet Robert Blanke with a dedication to her father and the poet.
My favourite tale was "The Real Princess" which is the second time I have enjoyed a re-telling of The Princess and the Pea the most. I also really liked The Beast, Masterpiece, Roach in Loafers, The Huntsman's Story, Hansel and Grettel, Match Girl and The Fox Wife (by far the longest tale in the collection). Recommended to all lovers of fairy tales and great stories.
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LibraryThing member Fainting_Project
The third in a really lovely anthology series of contemporary takes on fairy tales (all collected by editrixes extraordinaire Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow), this volume features several standouts: Ellen Stieber's "The Fox Wife" deftly blends the folkloric element of fox-spirit possession with
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the very human story of a woman in 18th-Century Japan who struggles against the bonds of tradition and matrimony; Delia Sherman's "The Printer's Daughter" is a thoroughly charming and quite moving retelling of "The Snow Child" in which the girl in question arises from discarded newsprint, her speech limited to its sometimes bawdy, sometimes evangelical content; Joyce Carol Oates's "The Crossing" is a totally fresh and modern take on Sleeping Beauty, in which the narrative reveals itself to the reader in gradual, utterly compelling fashion; and Neil Gaiman's haunting poem "The White Road" makes an appearance here, as well. The only true low point in this collection is a garish poem that takes on Snow White by way of Polly Klass, Milbre Birch's "The Huntsman's Story," an effort (and it reads like one; the reader can practically hear the poem clanking and clunking along like an old jalopy) in decidedly poor taste which manages to be both overwrought and devoid of any true feeling. Show Less
LibraryThing member auntieknickers
A collection of short stories, all with the theme of reimagined fairytales, some familiar and some more obscure. Each author chose his or her own tale to expand upon, so there are some stories which are interpreted by more than one writer. As often happens with such anthologies, there were some
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stories I enjoyed greatly and others that I didn't care to finish. But I think almost anyone would find several tales to enjoy in this book. There is also a fine bibliography for further reading. Recommended. ( I read this on my Kindle.) Show Less
LibraryThing member yougotamber
Most of the stories were poorly written, one was ghastly. The stories themselves are amusing and thankfully short. I picked this edition because it includes a story from Joyce Carol Oates but I'm thinking maybe I should have tried one of the first two editions. This was nothing that will be
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remembered and if anything, most of the Authors in this collection I will be avoiding in the future. I think the best writing were from the known Authors I love, Joyce Carol Oates and Neil Gaiman. I like to read short stories to find other Authors that I can break into, this was not the case here. Very disappointed. Show Less
LibraryThing member WonderlandGrrl
Darker revamped versions of classic folk & fairy tales. My top picks from the volume are “The Beast” (Lee) & “Match Girl” (Bishop)
LibraryThing member jsabrina
Solid anthology, with the usual mix of stand-outs and not-so-great entries. I particularly liked the first story, a mash-up of "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Red Shoes" in what sounds like 1940's Hollywood, and the last one, "The Printer's Child," by Delia Sherman, which was marvelously inventive as
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well as being well-written. Show Less
LibraryThing member books-n-pickles
Short/nonexistent reviews because I'm in school and have no time. (Except on my commutes, which is when I'm reading all of these.)
Favorites from this collection:
Summer Wind, by Nancy Kress. Man this take on Sleeping Beauty was a thing of beauty in its own right. Gorgeous writing, ponderous depths.
The Emperor Who Had Never Seen a Dragon, by John Brunner. One of the few set in a non-European-inspired culture. Loved the twist on The Emperor's New Clothes!
The Real Princess, by Susan Palwick. A dark take on The Princess and the Pea with my kind of twist at the end. I'll say no more to avoid spoilers. Read it twice.
After Push Comes to Shove, by Milbre Burch. I was delighted to find poetry scattered through the stories. This one is from the perspective of the witch in Hansel and Gretel.
The Fox Wife, by Ellen Steiber. Another (the only other?) non-European-esque fairy tale. This one felt a little more original, based on a legend than an actual story, but it's very possible that's only because I'm not familiar with Japanese folklore. More like a novella.
The White Road, by Neil Gaiman. To be fair, I knew he was in here, so I was avoiding looking at the authors until after I'd read the stories. But really, no one should be surprised. Another one of my kinds of twists, further empowering--and interest-i-fying--women who, unusually, were already somewhat empowered in the original story.
The Printer's Daughter, by Delia Sherman. Because what book-lover can't appreciate a person made out of books? Another one I read twice.
Favorites from this collection:
Summer Wind, by Nancy Kress. Man this take on Sleeping Beauty was a thing of beauty in its own right. Gorgeous writing, ponderous depths.
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I read it three times.The Emperor Who Had Never Seen a Dragon, by John Brunner. One of the few set in a non-European-inspired culture. Loved the twist on The Emperor's New Clothes!
The Real Princess, by Susan Palwick. A dark take on The Princess and the Pea with my kind of twist at the end. I'll say no more to avoid spoilers. Read it twice.
After Push Comes to Shove, by Milbre Burch. I was delighted to find poetry scattered through the stories. This one is from the perspective of the witch in Hansel and Gretel.
The Fox Wife, by Ellen Steiber. Another (the only other?) non-European-esque fairy tale. This one felt a little more original, based on a legend than an actual story, but it's very possible that's only because I'm not familiar with Japanese folklore. More like a novella.
The White Road, by Neil Gaiman. To be fair, I knew he was in here, so I was avoiding looking at the authors until after I'd read the stories. But really, no one should be surprised. Another one of my kinds of twists, further empowering--and interest-i-fying--women who, unusually, were already somewhat empowered in the original story.
The Printer's Daughter, by Delia Sherman. Because what book-lover can't appreciate a person made out of books? Another one I read twice.
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LibraryThing member bragan
This is the third book in a series of 1990s anthologies of "literary fairy tales," in which all the stories are based on or inspired by folk or fairy tales (some much more loosely than others). "Sleeping Beauty" is a particular favorite in this one, but there's a pretty fair variety, including some
And yet, despite their potentially powerful themes, I have to say, a lot of these struck me as beautifully written but somehow not terribly engaging or satisfying. It might be that I just wasn't in quite the right mood for them. Still, even the stories that kind of left me cold were interesting literary exercises, if nothing else. And there were several that I unambiguously enjoyed, chief among them "The Fox Wife" by Ellen Steiber, which was just a good tale well told. Which is nice, because it was also by far the longest story in the collection. There are also a couple of very good poems.
Rating: Despite my mixed feelings, this one grew on me enough that I'm going to give it 4/5 in the end.
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from cultures other than the usual European sources (although not, as far as I can tell, in the hands of anyone actually from those cultures). The subject matter is generally quite dark. Which is true for fairy tales in general, really, at least the unsanitized ones, but the stories here do take some of the disturbing elements that are implicit in the old stories and make them a lot more explicit. Perhaps the majority of these involve domestic abuse and men exercising horrible power over women.And yet, despite their potentially powerful themes, I have to say, a lot of these struck me as beautifully written but somehow not terribly engaging or satisfying. It might be that I just wasn't in quite the right mood for them. Still, even the stories that kind of left me cold were interesting literary exercises, if nothing else. And there were several that I unambiguously enjoyed, chief among them "The Fox Wife" by Ellen Steiber, which was just a good tale well told. Which is nice, because it was also by far the longest story in the collection. There are also a couple of very good poems.
Rating: Despite my mixed feelings, this one grew on me enough that I'm going to give it 4/5 in the end.
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Original publication date
1995
2014-09-30 (ebook)
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Pages
436